My monitor mount is very high-tech. It is made from two prices of scrap 2x4", some drywall screws, and a couple metal L-brackets. It is mounted to a shelve behind the monitors using a 4" bolt which allows it to swing just a little.

1 comment has been made.

Tampa, FL

July 28, 2016 at 5:14 PM

I've been a fan of your Gemfire site for a long time. Decided to check out your main site. You seem like a pretty cool guy. Also your Sleeping Box looked cool, haha. =) Just wanted to say hello, from one programmer to another. I'm always dabbling in C++, trying to remake old video games. Gemfire is one such project. That game had a lot of hidden rules/stats that you never really notice until you're trying to recreate the game.

My setup goes back to 4 monitors. I lost one around a year ago when the refurbished monitor finally gave up completely. It had worked intermittently and slowly got worse to the point where it no longer turned on. Zach has lent me a monitor to again fill out my collection. I like having the 4th monitor as a place to put logs.

Yesterday's skies around 7:40pm. The storm had now mostly passed and was just drizzle. The sun won't set for an other 45 minutes, but it was rather dark. And we enjoying a spectacular light show. Most of the lighting stayed in the clouds, but the flashes were pretty regular.
The ride to and from work today did not benefit from the temperature drop like yesterday, and I had to slug out the whole ride at 90+ temperatures. But it has been done.

It's Coming...

Today was hot and humid. When I left in the morning it was 78° (25.5°C), but almost 100% humidity. When I got to work I was completely soaked from sweating, and it was like I was raining once I stopped. The forecast was calling for high temperature throughout the day, and when I left work it was 96°F (35.5°C) at around 60% humidity. It was more like swimming than biking.
With the heat I packed additional water and took it slow. There was a strong wind from the south west which helped push me along. Approaching Warner Park on the north east side of lake Mendota, I noticed dark clouds in the distance. With the winds from the south west I figured they were moving away, but they were not. I stopped long enough to refill a water bottle and eat a gel energy pack and got back to pushing the peddles. Then the strangest weather phenomena I've ever experienced happened. I had just crossed Tory Drive after joining it from Marcy Road, and I felt a cool patch of air. At first I thought maybe someone in a nearby house had left a door open or something to that effect. But rather than it being just a quick passing gust of cool air, the temperature plunged from the 96°F I had been cycling in to around 75°F (23.8°C)—in about 5 seconds. I've been in temperature drops before from an incoming storm, but nothing compares to how dramatic I found this drop. The winds picked up, but were now strongly from the north-north east.
With the threatening skies, sudden temperature drop, and wind change, I knew the weather wasn't stable. With the cooler temperature, I start pushing the peddles much harder. I had a good headwind until I reached the corner of Blue Bill Park and Highway M. From this point onward I had an amazing tailwind. Typically I stay on highway M until Oncken Road. But once the road turned south my tailwind was at maximum and I decided to utilize it. I was holding speeds of 20+ MPH on flat road, sometimes hitting 30 MPH. Pretty good for a heavy bike that typically only moves 14 MPH.
Along M I felt a few sprinkles, but they went away again. I managed to get all the way to Columbus Drive before I started to feel them again, and that is only a few blocks from home. At I approached home the sprinkles were picking up. After getting up the driveway I wasted no time in getting myself and my bike inside. And none too soon. Movements after I got inside I started hearing rain on the roof.
What followed was one of the best storms I've seen in years. I went upstairs for a shower and shortly afterward the power went out. It tried to come back on three times in the first few seconds, but then gave up. The house went to the front porch with our smartphones in tow so we could enjoy the storm and watch the radar. The front was fairly narrow, but moving in such a way that we remained in the strongest part for quite awhile. Winds reached guests of over 50 MPH. Torrential rains turned the streets into large puddle, and flash flood warnings were issued. The power outage we were experiences effected 1,200 people and I read latter over 9,000 people lost power during the storm. Our power stayed out for around 4 hours, and came on right before I went to bed. It was the first down time of DrQue.net in a long time. While the server is solar powered, the router, switch and cable modem are not. I could back these devices, but this is the first substantial power outage I've had in a decade.
What a storm though. That temperature drop and my luck getting home before it hit were amazing. I couldn't believe how rapidly the temperature was able to change. And what a difference to my cycling performance—the temperature drop coupled with the threat of being poured on greatly increased my push. It was an experience.

I had to cycle to a client site today, and I was looking forward to crossing one of the bike/foot paths over the busy belt line. Google had other plans. After plotting out my course, it redirected me backward on my course and I crossed at a bridge I had already been. I was not pleased. On the way to work I had to take a detour because part of the trail was being worked on and ended up going a little off-course. That was fine because I don't mind exploring, and some of the scenery was quite pleasant. During the ride I realized I forgot my snake food (carrots, celery and red peppers) at home. So I stopped at a gas station to pick up something to hold me off (junk food). I love the lemon cupcake things and grabbed one to have in my collection of junk food. I discovered latter that day I should check these things first. They were so old and dried out you couldn't break them in half. I have no idea how long this takes, but it has to be a ridiculous amount of time.